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Critics list

Barbara VanDenburgh

Tomatometer-approved critic
Publications:

Reviews

Movies TV Shows
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) 97% 5/5 EDIT “Love stories are as old as stories themselves, but "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" feels very much like it's inventing something.” – Arizona Republic Feb 13, 2020 Full Review Les misérables (2019) 88% 3.5/5 EDIT “When it reaches its boiling point, "Les Misérables" absolutely roils.” – Arizona Republic Jan 23, 2020 Full Review Just Mercy (2019) 85% 3/5 EDIT “With the exception of Foxx's moving performances, "Just Mercy" delivers little you can't get from simply watching the news.” – Arizona Republic Jan 10, 2020 Full Review The Song of Names (2019) 39% 2.5/5 EDIT “Far from heightening the sense of mystery, the flashback construction renders the present-day dramatically inert, giving fine actors little to do save deliver exposition.” – Arizona Republic Jan 3, 2020 Full Review Little Women (2019) 95% 3.5/5 EDIT “Watching Greta Gerwig's 2019 "Little Women" is like visiting an old friend for tea. The conversation may not surprise, but that's what makes the company a warm comfort.” – Arizona Republic Dec 25, 2019 Full Review A Hidden Life (2019) 82% 5/5 EDIT “"A Hidden Life" is less a story than an experience, a spiritual journey made accessible through light and sound. Malick doesn't transcend cinema. He sanctifies it.” – Arizona Republic Dec 19, 2019 Full Review Queen & Slim (2019) 82% 3.5/5 EDIT “Fueled by pain and anger, fortified by strength and resolve, "Queen & Slim" is a righteous movie - one that's angry about America's refusal to confront the sins of racism and mournful about the enduring legacy of slavery.” – Arizona Republic Nov 26, 2019 Full Review Frozen II (2019) 77% 3/5 EDIT “It adds up to a marginally more interesting experience than the first "Frozen," but this sequel would have benefited from venturing a touch further into the unknown.” – Arizona Republic Nov 20, 2019 Full Review The Report (2019) 83% 2/5 EDIT “If only anything committed to screen here were memorable.” – Arizona Republic Nov 15, 2019 Full Review Ford v Ferrari (2019) 92% 3.5/5 EDIT “It's behind the wheel with Miles that "Ford v Ferrari" becomes a well-oiled entertainment machine, a thrill ride with a driver's-eye view of the world's most exciting track. Everything that doesn't work is just a distant speck in the rearview mirror.” – Arizona Republic Nov 13, 2019 Full Review Last Christmas (2019) 47% 2/5 EDIT “It fails to work in spectacular fashion.” – Arizona Republic Nov 7, 2019 Full Review First Love (2019) 98% 3.5/5 EDIT “"First Love" might not ultimately mean much, but its wily mix of colorful elements - romance, organized crime, slapstick and ultra-violence - makes for a bracingly weird cinematic experience.” – Arizona Republic Oct 9, 2019 Full Review Brittany Runs a Marathon (2019) 89% 3.5/5 EDIT “Brittany is funny and authentic, but she can also be prickly and stubborn, even hard to like. You know, the way real people are.” – Arizona Republic Aug 29, 2019 Full Review The Kitchen (2019) 24% 2.5/5 EDIT “"The Kitchen" requires Scorsese levels of charisma to work, and only McCarthy comes close out of sheer professionalism.” – Arizona Republic Aug 7, 2019 Full Review Tel Aviv on Fire (2018) 89% 3/5 EDIT “It mostly works, so long as you don't ask too much of it or look too closely.” – Arizona Republic Jul 31, 2019 Full Review Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood (2019) 86% 4/5 EDIT “Tarantino may have set the finish line at 10, but after watching "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," it's impossible to believe he only has one more good movie in him.” – Arizona Republic Jul 25, 2019 Full Review Midsommar (2019) 83% 3.5/5 EDIT “Aster is a filmmaker still defining his voice, and despite the growing pains, "Midsommar" is an intriguing step in its evolution.” – Arizona Republic Jul 1, 2019 Full Review The Proposal (2018) 97% 3.5/5 EDIT “"The Proposal" makes for a fascinating and not-a-little-morbid piece of artistic trolling.” – Arizona Republic Jun 19, 2019 Full Review The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019) 93% 3.5/5 EDIT “"Last Black Man" is two hours of a feeling, one that it can't sustain through beauty alone... Still, "Last Black Man" pulses with undeniable energy and the promise of other, even better films to come.” – Arizona Republic Jun 12, 2019 Full Review Late Night (2019) 80% 3/5 EDIT “[A] formulaic and uneven comedy given a needed boost by a commanding central performance.” – Arizona Republic Jun 10, 2019 Full Review Aladdin (2019) 57% 2/5 EDIT “It all has the air of a community theater troupe performing in a Disney parade, overeager in the exaggerated artifice.” – Arizona Republic May 23, 2019 Full Review John Wick: Chapter 3 -- Parabellum (2019) 89% 4.5/5 EDIT “"The Matrix" is in its DNA, and like "The Matrix," "John Wick" elevates action not by apologizing for it but embodying it, and embedding in its thrills meditations on the nature of existence.” – Arizona Republic May 14, 2019 Full Review All Is True (2018) 73% 2.5/5 EDIT “How do you make a legend as imposing as Shakespeare flesh? "All Is True" suggests you can't, if not even Branagh, Dench, McKellen, et al. can bring him down to earth.” – Arizona Republic May 14, 2019 Full Review Hail Satan? (2019) 96% 3.5/5 EDIT “As a study in the art of media manipulation and civic trolling, "Hail Satan?" is informative and entertaining.” – Arizona Republic May 1, 2019 Full Review Hotel Mumbai (2018) 76% EDIT “There were innumerable ways to tell the story of the Mumbai attacks responsibly, and with greater emotional punch... Instead, the filmmakers leaned into the body count. It's technically competent filmmaking - just not ethically.” – Arizona Republic Mar 27, 2019 Full Review
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